From cults to teen pregnancy, these stars have harrowing pasts.



When it comes to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/hollywood-stylists-virtual-awards-season-red-carpet-oscars-2021" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hollywood</a><a href="https://www.lofficiel.co.uk/pop-culture/female-celebrities-winners-egot">&nbsp;celebrities</a>, we usually think their family drama and tragedies are confined to the screen. In reality, several of our favorite actors and <a href="https://www.lofficiel.co.uk/pop-culture/sitcom-charachters-best-fashion-style">TV personalities</a> faced unfathomable challenges during their upbringing and throughout their careers. Their lives might look glamorous now, but between cults and teen <a href="https://www.lofficiel.co.uk/pop-culture/mothers-day-helena-christensen-about-motherhood">motherhood</a>, many of them were anything but.

Learn all about the surprising history of some of Hollywood&#39;s most successful talents.

&nbsp;

Leighton Meester

&nbsp;

<img src="https://www.datocms-assets.com/39109/1623792759-9273leighton-meestercopy2.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress" />

She might have lived a charmed life as Blair on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficiel.co.uk/Fashion/Steal-this-gossip-girl-looks-in-2021-serena-van-der-woodsen-blair-waldorf">Gossip Girl</a><a href="https://www.lofficiel.co.uk/Fashion/Steal-this-gossip-girl-looks-in-2021-serena-van-der-woodsen-blair-waldorf">,</a> but in real life Meester&#39;s upbringing was anything but. When Meester was born, her mother was in prison on drug-related charges for helping her then-boyfriend smuggle marijuana out of Jamaica. Meester&#39;s mom was allowed to give birth in a hospital, but still had 16 months left to serve of her sentence. Baby Meester lived in a halfway house before her grandmother was given custody of her. After gaining success in her acting career, Meester&#39;s relationship with her mother became strained after financially supporting her.

&nbsp;

Joaquin Phoenix

&nbsp;

<img src="https://www.datocms-assets.com/39109/1623790867-gettyimages-1200634999.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress" />

It&#39;s no wonder&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/jodie-comer-joaquin-phoenix-ridley-scott-napoleon-bonaparte-film-kitbag" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Phoenix</a>&nbsp;acts out traumatized characters so well onscreen&mdash;he was actually brought up in a cult. Phoenix&#39;s parents raised Joaquin and his siblings, including River Phoenix, in the Children of God cult. Horrific acts, including child abuse, were carried out and encouraged by cult members. Thankfully, the family escaped the cult by sneaking onto an ocean freighter when Joaquin was three, but not without facing years of poverty and aftermath from trauma.

&nbsp;

Woody Harrelson

&nbsp;

<img src="https://www.datocms-assets.com/39109/1623792603-10-9c8b982d-200b-4d3d-9d77-764f68a2aa56.png?auto=format%2Ccompress" />

We know him as the lovable drunk from&nbsp;The Hunger Games&nbsp;and comedic relief in&nbsp;Cheers, but his real upbringing is no laughing matter. Harrelson&#39;s father, Charles, was a contract killer and organized crime figure who famously murdered Texan Judge John Wood.&nbsp;Harrelson&#39;s father was convicted and sentenced to two life sentences in prison. Charles died in Supermax federal prison in Colorado of a heart attack at age 69.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Sofia Vergara

&nbsp;

<img src="https://www.datocms-assets.com/39109/1623794527-tumblrcd1d75425c259cd002616bdabd0aab9ac7f7db4d1280.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress" />

The comedic actress and bombshell faced tragedy during her career when her brother was murdered in their home country of Colombia during the late &#39;90s. He was shot and killed during a kidnapping gone wrong, and Vergara&#39;s second brother suffered from alcohol and drug addiction folliwing his sibling&#39;s death. He was deported to Colombia after being arrested over 30 times for substance possession.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Oprah

&nbsp;

<img src="https://www.datocms-assets.com/39109/1623792024-oprah-winfrey-gty-jef-1802264x3992.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress" />

The talk show host&#39;s ability to empathize with her guests is unsurprising, given her tumultuous childhood. Oprah had her first experience with sexual abuse at nine when she was raped by her 19-year-old cousin, and then by her family friend and uncle. After years of sexual abuse, she became pregnant at 14. She hid the pregnancy as long as she could, but her mother kicked her out of the house when she found out. Oprah&#39;s baby tragically died in the hospital weeks after being born.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

St. Vincent

&nbsp;

<img src="https://www.datocms-assets.com/39109/1623794609-1622123070-1622104946-stv586702-pc-zackerymichael-credit-zackery-michael-embargoed-until-march-4th.webp?auto=format%2Ccompress" />

St. Vincent by Zachery Michael

Now a successful musician, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/st-vincent-daddys-home-album-interview-annie-clark" rel="noopener" target="_blank">up-and-coming singer&#39;s</a>&nbsp;(n&eacute;e&nbsp;Annie Clark) latest album&nbsp;Daddy&#39;s Home&nbsp;was partially inspired by her dad&#39;s time in prison. St. Vincent&#39;s father was sentenced to jail for 12 years for taking part in a $43 million stock manipulation ploy, and was released in 2019.&nbsp;

6 Celebrities With Shocking Family Histories

Tags

Recommended posts for you

Fashion

Amanda Seyfried Doesn't Take Herself Too Seriously

Fashion Week

Christian Cowan reinvents fashion through a playful prism

Fashion

The must-have Mary Janes for spring summer 2025 from the Milan and Paris fashion shows

Man

10 Men's Fashion Gift Ideas for Valentine's Day 2025: Style and Elegance to Surprise

Fashion Week

Giorgio Armani, the lesson on elegance with the men's fashion show autumn winter 2025

Around the World

The Danieli: the timeless soul of Venice

Fashion Week

Schiaparelli's Divine Rise with New Haute Couture Collection

Fashion Week

Magliano strikes with the seduction of the Adriatic and the autumn winter 2025 fashion sh